YIKES I nearly made a mistake.

I nearly melted this coin down.

https://www.thelondoncoincompany.com/store/2017-Britannia-20th-Anniversary-Chariot-%C2%A32-Silver-1oz-Coin-p187581555

The only reason why it was pulled out of my tube of silver and looked at carefully was I thought it was a FAKE.

Why because it has writing on the rim and is very very shiny. The rest are milked up. Not sure how it got in there but it is back in a capsule and safe.

Yikes.

I bet you were relieved @Admin . We'd probably have heard the scream from down here if it had gone into the melting pot and you then found out what it was. Mind you, you might never have found out.
I have a 2017 Britannia Chariot, limited to 99,000, but I don't know about an edge inscription. The seller told me it was a USA exclusive issue, but it still only cost £27. I'll have to dig it out and have a look next time I have a week to spare.

Well my day was officially PANTS!

Lets start, Wake up at 0700, started the process at 0800.
working in temperatures up to 37 degrees. not counting the 11200 degrees for the furnace.

Flask 1,  I poured but under estimated how much silver it was going to take. 18 oz I thought was more than enough... nope... so 2 of my pieces didn't come out.. Ok i can live with that and I can just make another 2 in the next batch.... no big deal...

BUT as I am checking why it took so much silver, I stupidly placed the bowl with the silver in water on top of my worktop.... ( normally do but I am not thinking straight. ) I then knocked said bowl down spilling water all over my workshop floor. GREAT !!!!!!! F.N Great.

Then I have to run to my safe... by run I mean go in the house ... taking at least 10 minutes... then find extra silver because I have a second flask waiting to be poured.

Finally I get there and put the silver in.... I am just in btw... ( it is now 1910 ) at the time I started typing this.

I got the silver up to temperature.  started looking at the pieces I have already done.. not bad but a little flashing etc.

Then I put the flask in my vacuum chamber.  All is fine... until I hear a POP!

Luckily I was at the stage where I was just about to get the silver and pour it... The bottom of the flask blew out.. ( blow out as they call it )

FECK now what..... I have about a kilos worth of silver molten and I cant just pour it into X Y Z moulds. nope... they require heating up etc.
And at this point I am pushing my time limit on how long my crucible has been in the furnace for.

So I pull it out and let it cool. Then I tip it out and now I have a Giant Polo. Oh freaken joy.

So a entire day wasted. I am going to eat and go shower then off to bed. Today sucked.

Maybe take up flower arranging?

That's why the wife shouldn't go away and leave you home alone

Jon, I hope you get some quality R&R before going at it again.

Periodic Table wrote:Jon, I hope you get some quality R&R before going at it again.

Thank you, I have a Kilo ( YES KILO ) rolo type that once cleaned could just be hallmarked and sold as a ACE F. up.

I slept but feel like I need to sleep again. it is nearly 11 and I am still in a daze... I was really worn out.


The thing that is most annoying is the time. It wasn't just yesterday 12 plus hours of work down the drain,

It was about 2 weeks worth of work to get to that state.

So being gutted is a under statement in my view.. I was and still am so annoyed .. but also grateful in a lot of ways.

There is a Japanese saying. Nana korobi, ya oki. Fall down seven times, stand up eight. Keep going, your perseverance will pay off.

ArcaneCollector wrote:There is a Japanese saying. Nana korobi, ya oki. Fall down seven times, stand up eight. Keep going, your perseverance will pay off.

I appreciate that, But dang yesterday took a lot out of me.. both mentally and physically. I am still knackered today.

Not everything works out. Time was lost.. ( a lot of it ) Money was lost ( not much but noticeable. ) And when I am working on a near shoe string budget as it is because of various commitments. I find it really hard to stand back up again... But I did.. I have not decided if I want to remake the failed pour. If I don't then half of what I did was for nothing. However the other problem I face is that I didn't realise how heavy the pieces would be. So that makes it out of the reach for a lot of people in a time when buying such luxuries are not going to happen. I know I have had a lot less traffic and buyers on my website... But I am determined and will see how the end of the year plays out.

@Admin, I can understand your frustration. Yeah, I've gotten torqued off with various projects and I ended up casting them aside until I was rejuvenated again.